Currency Meltdown Coming

Posted: Mar 16 2011     By: Greg Hunter      Post Edited: March 16, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Filed under: USAWatchdog.com
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Dear CIGAs,

The situation in Japan is getting worse, not better. There are shortages in food, fuel and warm dry shelter. To make matters exponentially worse, nuclear power plants there continue to burn out of control and emit high levels of radiation. Japan is a stark reminder of how fast a modern technologically advanced society can be brought to its knees by an unforeseen calamity.
On the other side of the Pacific, the devastating pictures from that island nation are taking the attention away from our own, much more predictable, calamity coming from a tsunami of debt. As the U.S. and other world governments continue to print money to keep the banks and system solvent, a ball of debt is growing. It is on course to swamp the system. In his latest report, Martin Armstrong, former Chairman of Princeton Economics and an expert in the study of economic cycles, said events happening in places like Japan or the Middle East are not the main issue the world is facing. Armstrong said, “This is coming at a time when governments are broke. We have state and local governments in a debt crisis and that meltdown is very real!!!!!!! Government is collapsing. That is the issue.” Armstrong says because of all the money created to bail out failing banks, gold is gaining in price. “This is not just inflation. We are on the verge of a currency meltdown this time,” said Armstrong. (Click here to read the latest report from Martin Armstrong.)
The latest analysis from economist John Williams of Shadowstats.com agrees with Armstrong. In a special report released yesterday, Williams warns a “great collapse nears.”  Williams said the collapse will take the form of “a hyperinflationary great depression. Such will encompass a complete collapse in the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar; a collapse in the normal stream of U.S. commercial and economic activity; a collapse in the U.S. financial system as we know it. . .”  The hyperinflation will come from bank bailouts and ongoing Quantitative Easing (QE or money printing) used to keep the financial system from collapse. Calamities in places like Japan will likely accelerate QE. The Fed will have to make up for the loss of Japan as a buyer of our debt. Williams said,“. . . the economic and systemic-solvency crises appear to be worsening, not improving, suggesting more, not less, quantitative easing.”  This, in turn, will quicken the loss of buying power for the buck. So, we have a vicious cycle of QE coupled with declining tax revenue that is accelerating the “great collapse” scenario.
More…

 

TEPCO Chimes In With News On The Powerline, NRC's Jaczko Warns Japan Radiation Levels "Very High", As AP Says No More Water In Spent Fuel Plant

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2011 15:27 -0400

The "powerline" meme which suddenly everyone is talking about, may be a little premature according to TEPCO:

• TEPCO CANNOT CONFIRM IF THE POWERLINE IS ALMOST DONE OR NOT

And in the meantime the NRC's Chairman Jaczko comes out swinging with some more bull in china shop statements:

• JACZKO SAYS PEAK NUCLEAR RADIATION LEVELS IN JAPAN `VERY HIGH'
• JACZKO SAYS PEAK LEVELS `LETHAL' AFTER `FAIRLY SHORT' EXPOSURE

And the worst news comes from AP:

• NO MORE MORE WATER IN SPENT FUEL POOL AT JAPAN NUCLEAR PLANT:AP

To all trading this headline driven market, our sincerest condolences.

¥55,600,000,000,000

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2011 16:02 -0400

That's the total amount of money rumored to be injected by the BOJ in order to keep the Nikkei going for a whopping 4 days. According to PTI the BOJ has offered to add an additional ¥13.8 trillion today, to go with the tens of trillions already noted previously on Zero Hedge. If proven true, this would bring the total taxpayer backstop injected in just 4 days to $700 billion dollars! This whole exercise to keep the bank holiday away is starting to be just a little expensive to Joe Peasant.




Nuclear Plant Operator: Water in Pool Storing Spent Nuclear Fuel Rods May Be Boiling, an Ominous Sign for Release of Radioactivity 

 

 

 

As Market Surges On Latest Deux Ex Machina Straw Man, Kyodo Warns "Chain Reaction Could Restart"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2011 14:59 -0400

While the future of the free market now hinges on some power cord which according to the AP "may solve the crisis", yet which we are a little skeptical is merely the latest deux ex machina that the prevaricating Japanese authorities are pulling out of their collective derrieres (remember the water and boron baths that were supposed to fix everything), a far more troubling report has emerged from the New Scientist (citing Kyodo) which may explain why TEPCO and Japanese authorities have been so tight lipped about the actual truth of what is happening at Fukushima. To wit: "The situation at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has become extremely unnerving. The Tokyo Electric Power Company has now admitted that the spent fuel rods could go critical - that is, a nuclear chain reaction could restart." This would be an absolute worst case disaster which would make Chernobyl look like a dress rehearsal. Incidentally while hope and pray (to Ben Bernanke) may have been a viable strategy for stocks over the past two years, it will fail disastrously when dealing with a nuclear catastrophe.

Market In Freefall As USDJPY Takes Out Stops, S&P Now Negative For The Year

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2011 14:16 -0400

Just a few more pips in the USDJPY and we are in uncharted territory. Below 79.75 in the USDJPY there is little support, except for the BOJ. Flash crashes in assorted index tracking futures are being witnessed everywhere, with an emphasis on Europe. In the meantime, following the rush to safety (in the Yen), the market is plunging to day lows, and the S&P has just turned negative for the year. 

 

 

 

US Energy Chief Says Partial Meltdown Has Occurred At Fukushima, Urges All Us Citizens Within 80 KM To Evacuate

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2011 13:38 -0400

Update: Britain follows US in recommending all nationals in Tokyo and north of Tokyo evacuate
More on the earlier news that Steven Chu "thought" a partial meltdown may have occurred, the just released news escalates the verbiage, which is now a definitive: "US Energy Chief says 'partial meltdown' occurred at the Fukushima Plant." The next step is his urgent recommendation for all US citizens who live within 80 kilometers of Fukushima to evacuate or take shelter indoors. Oddly enough, for the Japanese the evacuation radius is a fraction of this, but it is probably due to the government's recent arbitrary decision to pick a number of 250 millisieverts as the maximum safe threshold for NPP workers. Somehow we assume this means Japanese DNA is about 2.5 times more resilient to damaging alpha, beta and gamma radiation, than that extracted from the US and all other countries. We urge Japanese readers who have not already done so, to follow Chu's advice and to get the hell away from Dodge, and evacuate to a minimum 50 mile safe distance.

Guest Post: Nuke Pills Top $200 Per Pack On Auction Sites; Prices Up 1900% In Just A Few Days

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2011 14:03 -0400

As the effects of the nuclear disaster in Japan remain unclear, panicked US residents are doing whatever they can to get their hands on Potassium Iodide pills. Distributors of the FDA recommended pills have run out of stock, with one manufacturer reporting that they sold some 250,000 individual packets in a single weekend. As we reported in What Your Grocery Store Will Look Like In An Emergency, at the onset of a far-from-equilibrium event, the essentials go first. In Japan, food and especially water have become scarce. The panic is spreading, and residents in the US, fearing a fallout cloud crossing the pacific and affecting Western states, are stocking up as well. The supply crunch and high demand has forced buyers to turn to the secondary market for acquiring the FDA recommended potassium iodide supplements, driving prices to upwards of $200 for a 14 dose packet. The suggested retail price offered by the supplier at NukePills.com is $10 per pack, indicating that demand has forced prices up as much as 1900% in just a few days.